Resilient latch for perforated support board attachments



Nov. 29, 1960 M. c. ALLlNG 2,961,724

RESILIENT LATCH FOR PERFORATED SUPPORT BOARD ATTACHMENTS Filed Dec. 22, 1958 ATTORNEYS United States Patent RESILIENT LATCH FOR PERFORATED SUPPORT BOARD ATTACHMENTS Myrtle C. Alling, 9 S. Main St, P.0. Box 71, Shavertown, Pa.

Filed Dec. 22, 1958, Ser. No. 782,167

3 Claims. (CI. 24-73) The present invention relates to resilient latches for attachments for perforated support boards and particu: larly to such latches for releasably securing the attachment to the board.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a resilient latch for perforated support board attachments for releasably securing the attachment to the perforated board, wherein the latch is resiliently secured to the attachment.

Another object of the invention is to provide a resilient latch of the class described above which is attached to conventional perforated board attachments without modifying the structure of the perforated board or the attachment.

A further object of the invention is to provide a resilient latch for perforated board attachments which functions as a cam to assist in removing the attachment from the board without jamming and breaking the perforated board.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a resilient latch of the class described above which is inexpensive to manufacture, simple to attach and which effectively secures the attachment to the perforated board against accidental detachment.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent in the following specification when considered in light of the attached drawings, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of the invention shown mounted on a conventional perforated board attachment;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the resilient latch removed from the perforated board attachment;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the blank from which the resilient latch is formed;

Figure 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken along the line 44 of Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 5 is a side elevation of the invention shown mounted on a conventional perforated board attachment in position on the perforated board which is shown in vertical section;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary elevational view illustrating the jamming action of the attachment in the absence of the resilient latch; and

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 6 illustrating the camming action of the latch which prevents the jamming 'of the attachment in the perforated board.

Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several figures, the reference numeral 10 indicates generally a resilient latch constructed in accordance with the invention.

The resilient latch 10 is adapted for use with a conventional attachment 11 for perforated support boards 12 having a plurality of perforations 13 formed therein. The attachment 11 has an upright, generally straight shank 14 with a horizontally offset hook 15 integrally formed on the upper end thereof. A tool supporting hook 16, of any desired shape, is integrally secured to 2,961,724 Patented Nov. 29, 1960 the lower end of the shank 14 and extends outwardly therefrom.

The resilient latch 10, as illustrated in Figure 3, is formed from an elongated blank 17 of flat spring metal having opposed parallel side edges 18, 19 each having offset converging upper end portions 21, 22 terminating in an upper edge 23. The opposed parallel side edges 18, 19 terminate in a lower edge 24, parallel to the upper edge 23, and an integral generally rectangular tongue 25 depends centrally from the lower edge 24 in parallel relation to the side edges 18, 19. The blank 17 is pressed into a generally cylindrical form with the side edges 18, 19 arranged in spaced apart parallel relation, as can be clearly seen in Figure 2.

A bore 26 is formed in the blank 17 adjacent the upper edge 23 intermediate the inwardly sloping offset extensions 21, 22 of the side edges 18, 19. The tongue 25 is bent outwardly and upwardly at an acute angle to the blank 17 and has the outer end portion thereof upwardly domed at 27 to provide a downwardly sloping terminal end portion 28 thereon.

The latch 10 is applied to the attachment 11 by inserting the offset hook 15 through the bore 26 and snapping the blank 17 over the shank 14 so that the latch 10 snugly fits the shank 14 with the tongue 25 extending outwardly therefrom in underlying relation to the offset hook 15. With the resilient latch 10 in this position, the attachment 11 is secured to the perforated board 12 by passing the ofiset hook 15 through one of the perforations 13, as shown in Figure 7, and then swinging the shank 14 inwardly into parallel relation with the board 12 so that the tongue 25 passes through a perforation 13 below the perforation 13 engaged by the oliset hook 15. The downwardly sloping terminal end 28 on the tongue 25 serves as a cam to spring the tongue 25 downwardly when passing through the perforation 13, and the upwardly domed portion 27 thereof engages behind the perforated board 12 to resiliently secure the latch 10 in engagement with the perforated board 12, as is clearly shown in Figure 5.

As is illustrated in Figure 6, the attachments 11 in the absence of a latch 10 often have the shoulder 29 on the offset hook 15 bind against the inner rear edge of the perforation 13 so that if the shank 14 is pulled outwardly carelessly, the perforated board 12 is broken and the perforation 13 is greatly enlarged to the extent that it no longer will retain the perforated hook 15 therein.

As can be seen in Figure 7, applicants latch 10 extends above the horizontal portion of the offset hook 15 so that the upper edge 23 thereof will engage the outer face of the perforated board 12 during the removal of the attachment 11 and cam the shank 14 outwardly so that the shoulder 29 of the oifset hook 15 is guided outwardly through the perforation 13 to completely prevent the olfset hook 15 from jamming in the perforation 13.

With the present invention, the attachment 11 is resiliently secured to the perforated board 12 and will not be accidentally dislodged therefrom, due to vibration or other accidental means. The resiliency of the tongue 25 is such that when the shank 14 is pulled outwardly away from the perforated board 12, the tongue 25 will readily pass through the perforation 13 in which it is positioned to release the attachment 11 from the board 12.

Having thus described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it should be understood that numerous structural modifications and adaptations may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A resilient latch for attachments of the type supported on perforated support boards and having an upright shank carrying an integral offset hook on its upper end comprising a semi-cylindrical body for resiliently encompassing said shank, a resilient tongue integrally formed on said body and extending at an acute angle thereto a d mean :on a d liqs n a i a d o ls. hook for retaining said body in vertically spaced osili n 1 sa d sh nk- A devi e a c imd n laim 1 w er in means r provided on said body extending above said offse t hook l or eng in t e a of sa d h r e l idins sa d 1? .59! 1. 91; hen m unt n an o i 'fie a fa bni i t qa sa d b a d- 3. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said latch has a bore formed therein adjacent the upper end thereof through vvh ich said offset hook extends.

5 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 662,344 Boyd et all Nov. 20, 1900 2,239,202 Rendleman Apr. 22, 1941 10 2,833,010 liosenthal May 6, 1958 2,835,009 Balint May 20, 1958 

